Hospitals process resignations of nearly 7,700 trainee doctors

Local training hospitals have completed processing the resignations of nearly 7,700 trainee doctors who have left their posts over the past five months to protest the medical school quota hike, the health ministry said Thursday. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 56.5 percent of the 14,531 trainee doctors expressed their intention to leave since they left their hospitals in late February. As 7,707 candidates have applied for the training program starting in Septemb

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

PM 'not concerned' about impact of Trump reelection on S. Korea-US relations

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday he is not concerned about the impact Donald Trump's potential reelection as US president could have on South Korea-US relations, given the American people's strong support for the alliance. Han made the remark during a meeting with reporters at the government complex in the central city of Sejong amid speculation the Republican presidential nominee could threaten to reduce the US troop presence in Korea or raise trade barriers against the Asian

PoliticsJuly 18, 2024

N. Korea resumes sending trash-carrying balloons into S. Korea: JCS

North Korea has again launched balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The JCS said the balloons appeared to be travelling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul. It advised the public to not touch fallen balloons and report them to the military or police. North Korea is estimated to have launched more than 2,000 trash-carrying balloons since late May in a tit-for-tat move against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent

North KoreaJuly 18, 2024

Seoul touts Czech nuclear plant deal as Yoon's diplomatic feat

Behind South Korea's win of a 24 trillion won ($17.4 billion) nuclear power plant deal in the Czech Republic was President Yoon Suk Yeol's diplomatic effort, according to local reports quoting his aides in Seoul. Yoon who calls himself "Korea Inc.'s No. 1 salesman" has helped the South Korean consortium inching closer to signing what would be the central European country's largest energy project to build at least two 1,000 megawatts of nuclear units in Dukovany, a city located 170 kilo

PoliticsJuly 18, 2024

Top court recognizes legal rights of same-sex couple for 1st time

South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a same-sex couple, who sought to receive the same spousal coverage as heterosexual couples from the National Health Insurance Service. Under the current law, South Korea does not legally recognize same-sex marriage. However, Thursday’s ruling marks the first time that the top court recognized the legal rights of a same-sex couple. The top court’s landmark ruling upholds a high court’s decision in February last year

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Detained ship carrying 4,500-ton of N.Korean coal: Seoul

South Korean authorities have concluded that a detained cargo ship was carrying 4,500 tons of North Korean-produced anthracite coal in breach of UN sanctions, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced on Thursday. The unflagged cargo ship DE YI has been docked in South Korean waters since March 30 for investigation, following intelligence obtained by the South Korean government implicating the vessel in actions contravening UN Security Council resolutions. "Our government has decided to take

Foreign AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Torrential rains trigger evacuations, closures in Greater Seoul, central region

Torrential rains swept through the central parts of South Korea on Thursday, leading to evacuations in landslide-prone and flood-prone areas, school closures and traffic disruptions, causing chaos for many. The northern parts of Gyeonggi Province were among the hardest hit, including Paju, which saw rain up to 75.1 millimeters per hour early Thursday morning. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the total amount of rain that fell in Paju from midnight to 6 a.m. reached 143.5 mm.

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Seoul on alert over N. Korea's land mines floating into South with heavy rains

Authorities were on heightened alert Thursday over the possibility of land mines planted by North Korea troops floating into South Korean territory with the heavy rainfall. There is also a possibility that North Korea could intentionally float land mines toward the South via shared waterways to protest anti-North Korea leaflet-carrying balloons, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. North Korean troops have been newly planting land mines on the northern part of the Demilitarized Zone separatin

North KoreaJuly 18, 2024

Materials expert nominated as new science minister

Yoo Sang-im, a professor of materials engineering at Seoul National University, has been nominated as the new minister of science and ICT, the presidential office announced Thursday. Introducing Yoo, the presidential office described him as “the right person to strongly lead our country’s science and technology policies during this great transformation of the advanced technology revolution, based on his long research experience and expertise in the field of science and technology.&rd

PoliticsJuly 18, 2024

'Dad's not real': Woman jailed for 15 years for patricide

A young woman under the delusion that the world and her father were fake was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering her father, a local court said Thursday. Ulsan District Court found the defendant in her 20s guilty of killing an ascendant, for which the Criminal Act stipulates a harsher punishment than for murder. She was also ordered to wear an electronic tracking anklet for 10 years after release. The court pointed out that killing one's parent is an extreme act against humanity

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Firefighter saves woman hanging from high-rise balcony

A 28-year-old firefighter is being hailed a hero after a video of him saving a woman who was hanging from the balcony of a high-rise building went viral. Firefighter Shin Gang-min saved a woman in her 30s who was hanging from the railing of a 13th-floor apartment unit in Wansan-gu, Jeonju, North Jeolla Province on Tuesday. The woman had climbed over in an attempt to take her own life, which the Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters learned of after receiving a report at around 5:46 p.m. After the police s

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Yoon names SNU prof. as new science minister, NK defector as unification council head

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday nominated Yoo Sang-im as the new science minister and North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker Tae Yong-ho as the secretary-general of the presidential Peaceful Unification Advisory Council's Secretariat, a vice-ministerial post. Presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk told reporters Thursday that Yoo, a materials science and engineering professor at Seoul National University, is the right fit for the position tasked with the conservative administration's scien

PoliticsJuly 18, 2024

Goyang steps up e-scooter regulations amid growing safety concerns

The city government of Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, said Thursday it is imposing a series of safety measures related to electric kick scooters in light of a recent accident that left one dead and another injured. According to the city, it will cooperate with the local police to clamp down on actions such as riding e-scooters without proper license, without safety helmets or with a passenger on the vehicle that is intended for one person. The new city regulations will also ban riding e-scooters ins

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Prominent N. Korean defector named head of unification council

A prominent North Korean defector was named as the new head of the presidential advisory council on unification, the presidential office said Thursday. President Yoon Suk Yeol has tapped Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain, as the secretary general for the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, chief of staff Chung Jin-suk said during a press briefing. Tae is the first North Korean defector to serve in the deputy ministerial post since the council was established in 1

PoliticsJuly 18, 2024

N. Korea discharges border dam water without notice: environment ministry

North Korea appears to have started discharging water from the upstream of a dam near the inter-Korean border in the early hours of Thursday without giving prior notice to South Korea, the environment ministry said. Satellite imagery taken at 3 a.m. showed the downstream of the North's Hwanggang Dam on the Imjin River had broadened in width, a change not visible from photos taken at 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to the environment ministry. However, the amount of water released is not presum

North KoreaJuly 18, 2024

Torrential rain alerts issued across capital area; expressways in Seoul partly closed

Heavy downpours pelted the broader Seoul area and adjacent regions on Thursday, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of residents due to safety concerns and the cancellation of dozens of flights. Northern areas of Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul were among the hardest hit, including Paju near the inter-Korean border, which received hourly precipitation of 75.1 millimeters at one point early Thursday morning. The accumulated rain in the Paju areas from midnight to 6 a.m. reached as much as 1

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2024

US lawmaker says Republicans are united, have 'high expectations' for Trump's victory

A Korean American congresswoman on Wednesday highlighted Republicans' "high expectations" for former President Donald Trump's victory in the November general election as she touched on the atmosphere of an ongoing GOP national convention in Wisconsin. In a phone interview with Yonhap News Agency, Rep. Michelle Park Steel (R-CA) noted a palpable sense of unity among party members at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump was formally nominated as the GOP

Foreign AffairsJuly 18, 2024

Renowned Korea expert released after arrest for allegedly acting as unregistered agent for S. Korea

A renowned Korean American foreign policy expert was arrested this week on allegations of acting as an unregistered agent for the South Korean government, the US attorney's office in New York said Wednesday. Sue Mi Terry, who formerly worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council and US think tanks, was arrested in New York on Tuesday, the office in the Southern District of New York said in a release, as she was accused of offenses under the Foreign Agents Regi

PoliticsJuly 18, 2024

S. Korean consortium picked as preferred bidder for up to 4 Czech nuclear units

A South Korean consortium led by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power was selected as the preferred bidder for the construction of up to four nuclear power plant units in the Czech Republic, beating out a French team that competed for the central European country's largest investment project. The consortium, comprising six South Korean companies, including KHNP, Doosan Enerbility and Daewoo Engineering & Construction, as well as affiliates of the state-owned Korea Electric Powe

PoliticsJuly 17, 2024

[Herald Interview] Kazakh uranium giant seeks ‘permanent partnership’ with S. Korea

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- Kazatomprom, the world's largest uranium miner, aims to establish a "permanent partnership" with South Korea to ensure a stable uranium supply amid growing demand, CEO Meirzhan Yussupov said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Herald. The company sees "significant potential" in expanding its cooperation into emerging fields, including the development of critical mineral resources, he added. "Successful and mutually beneficial cooperation b

Foreign AffairsJuly 17, 2024